The Landmine Ban Race: American Policy on the Ottawa Convention

Abstract: The United States is in the company of the minority of the global community by remaining outside of an international human rights treaty that bans anti-personnel landmines. This thesis provides an overview of said treaty, known as the Ottawa Convention, with a specific focus on American policy. Organized by presidency, it analyzes the changes in US landmine policy from the beginning of landmine advocacy in the 1990s to present day. It identifies significant variations in attitudes toward the Ottawa Convention, and any policy changes enacted in reflection of those attitudes. It then goes into depth of the problem the Korean peninsula poses in the United States acceding to the treaty. This thesis concludes with possible explanations for recent announcements that show the US aligning its landmine policy with the Ottawa Convention, and why the US is putting effort into participating in this particular human rights treaty when it has rejected so many others.